The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

[Rustylugnuts]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14838584#post14838584 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HerdofCrickets
I'm about to start a 260g build and am going to attempt to do most of it with MMLR and seed it with rock from my 90.

When kuring for PH, do you all use a powerhead and heater?

Is it the consensus that salt is out due to the long term effect of weakening the rock? Do you recommend Pasta instead??

When I used salt there was a lot of flaking off and some breakage in the pieces that were thinner than 1.5". The flaking can be taken care of with a wire brush and going too thin is easy to avoid. Other than that the rock was easily strong enough to stand on (not a skinny guy btw).

 

[JoelNB]

The salt is fine for normal sized pieces but you must follow the instructions. Don't overwet the mix, add the salt last, mix it quickly and dollop the mix from your hands. This way it won't spoil the rock and will be porous.

If you massage the form after it has been dolloped into the mould, it may gain strength but will lose its porosity and spread the salt.

BTW, I use a heater and powerhead.

Once the mix has cured for a few weeks and you're ready to soak it for the first time, do 100% water changes each day for a few days just to get rid of the salt.

 

[HerdofCrickets]

Sounds great!

Make the mix, thrown the salt in quickly and mix again, then plop it into the mold.

I am in no hurry, my 260 isn't going to be ready until June so I will let it cure for 4 weeks then put it in water for several months... weekly water changes...

Awesome!

I'll take pics as I go!

I'm going to spend the next few days looking at different designs online for my layout!!!!

 

[hhaase]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14838962#post14838962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by impur
Did you try a feed store?

Tried a number of them, they said that the supplier they had for the oyster shells has stopped making them and started producing these "calcium chips". Same with every feed store in the phone book, which wasn't many in this area. I picked up 2 bags of the chips to see what they are like, but haven't had a chance yet to dig into them.

 

[JoelNB]

I chose to use the Ol' Skool plus recipe (I didn't make that clear).

Once your pH gets down to 9, you might find it stays at 9 (but the leeching still happens and slows down so soaking is still good). The question is whether the strength of the leaching is enough to overwhelm the buffering of your tank water. I added mine to a working tank and I found I could only add a few pieces at a time (or the pH went up). After they've been there for a week or so, I could add more. They seem to settle when they're in the salt water.

 

[Rhodophyta]

Calcium chips might be aragonite (coral) fragments or dolomite (dryer) chips. I was at the LandMark feed store today, but wasn't looking at oyster shell. I sure hope the oysters are still making them.

 

[HerdofCrickets]

I think I'm going to make about 100lbs of rock this weekend and see how it turns out.

I'll let it sit about 3-4 weeks before putting it in water,

I'll put salt crystals in the larger pieces, but leave it out of the smaller pieces to conserve the strength.

Not decided on a recipie, I have to find out if our Home Depot carrys the right sand.

 

[HerdofCrickets]

I didn't find Portland Type I or Type II at my local Home Depot,

Does Quickcrete work? (I know I spelled that wrong...)

 

[HerdofCrickets]

It appears that I am an idiot, and Portland is not a brand of concrete... duh

 

[Rustylugnuts]

I may be mistaken but I think quickcrete is portland cement with sand included. It should work but you get a lot more rock for your money with portland type I or II

 

[HerdofCrickets]

Guess I'll be going back to Home Depot looking for this;

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/PortlandCement.asp

 

[HerdofCrickets]

Is this rock typically strong enough to drill without cracking, or should I make a hole for an acrylic rod when it is still wet?

 

[HerdofCrickets]

Is this rock typically strong enough to drill without cracking, or should I make a hole for an acrylic rod when it is still wet?

 

[logiktest]

It will depend on the ratio you use to make your rock. If your rock is dense you will likely be able to drill it. If the rock is too porous it may crack.

Personally, I use a ratio of 5 to 1 (aggregate to Portland), with the least amount of water possible and this makes my rock very porous but at the same time a little more brittle. Therefore, I'm usually unable drill my rock, but other people may be able to drill their rock because they make it differently.

Creating holes while your rock is wet is by far the easiest solution. Plastic coat hangers or 1/2" PVC should work well also for creating your aquascape.

 

[hhaase]

Well, I got to play around with the "Calcium Chips" today, and I think they're going to be fine. It appears they are some form of calcium carbonate, I think. Compared to the mini bag of oyster shells I was able to find locally, I prefer the chips. More consistent in the size of the granule, and man does the oyster shell SMELL!

The batch I tried today is about equal parts of Sand, Portland Cement, Calcium Chips and DE. Mixed until it's nice and moistly chunky, but with no standing water. It was initially a bit too wet, so I just added more chips until I got where I wanted to for consistency.

I tried the DE both because it is very lightweight for its volume and also to try and lighten the color up. But, the portland just dominated the color and darkened everything up.

-Hans

 

[Rhodophyta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14868296#post14868296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HerdofCrickets
Is this rock typically strong enough to drill without cracking, or should I make a hole for an acrylic rod when it is still wet?

If you embed a plastic pipe tee or elbow flush in the rock while it's wet, you will have a snug fitting hole for the acrylic rod.

 

[mray]

Does anyone know if Morton® System Saver II® Pellets salt can be used?

 

[kenjr]

I made about two hundred pounds of live rock using Cement,CC,perlite & aragonite Sand last fall. Kept it wet every day, & under a tarp in the sun for 30 days. but never got the chance to soak kure it in water before it got to cold . I kept it in my shed ,in boxes, over the winter. About 3 weeks ago, I started soaking it in 5gallon buckets. I let the rocks sit in the same water for the last 4 days & tested the ph, it never rose above 8.0- 8.4 between the 7 buckets and 3 bins. The rocks never leeched anything in the kurr water, crystal clear every water change. Did I mess up by not soaking last year, or is the rock ok and ready to use ?

 

[inkmates]

mray i use those pellets just read the inredients as long as its just sodium chloride you'll be fine if you get them wet (soakem for a min or 2) it'll round over the edges a bit and make it look a little more natural

kenjr sounds to me like you just lucked out I'd use it myself but when I add it to my tank I always do it slowly a piece or two a month depending on the size and keep an eye on the ph if it starts going up remove the last pieces you put in do a water change and recure the pieces you removed

 

[JoelNB]

Normally after kuring the pH is closer to 9. You can still add the rock slowly at that point. It sounds as if you're ready to go. I'd go slowly like inkmates said.